Even though the unemployment rate increased for the 13-county Georgia Mountains region in May, Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Wednesday that the region posted a strong month with key metrics trending favorably.
Georgia Mountains added to its workforce and number of employed residents, according to Butler. The number of new claims also fell, preliminary numbers showed.
"In May, we saw much needed growth in our labor force in many local areas," Butler said. “We also saw more Georgians become employed. Overall, we head into the summer with a good jobs report.”
The May unemployment rate increased by 0.2 percentage points, coming in at 2.9 percent. It was 3.1 percent one year ago. The rate declined across all 12 regions.
Nationally, the rate stayed constant at 3.6 percent. Georgia’s rate maintained at 3.8 percent.
The labor force increased in May by 2,595 to reach 350,652 total members. The number has climbed by 3,348 over the past 12 months.
The Georgia Mountains region added 1,565 employed residents in May, pushing its total to 340,350. That number has grown by 3,678 over the past year.
Initial claims for unemployment went down by about 12 percent in May. They are up by about 11 percent when compared to last May.
Employ Georgia, the GDOL’s online job listing service at employgeorgia.com showed 2,410 active job postings in the Georgia Mountains region for May.
The Georgia Mountains region includes Banks, Dawson, Forsyth, Franklin, Habersham, Hall, Hart, Lumpkin, Rabun, Stephens, Towns, Union, and White counties.
